Duke of York Islands
Encyclopedia
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. They are found in St George's Channel between New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
and New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
islands and form part of Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
. The Duke of York Islands were named in 1767 by Philip Carteret
Philip Carteret
Philip Carteret, Seigneur of Trinity was a British naval officer and explorer who participated in two of the Royal Navy's circumnavigation expeditions in 1764-66 and 1766-69.-Biography:...
to honor Prince Edward, son of Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
and younger brother of George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
Geography
The Duke of York islands consist of a total of thirteen islands and cover 58 km² in area. The largest island of the group is Duke of York IslandDuke of York Island, Papua New Guinea
Duke of York Island is the largest island of Duke of York Islands, Papua New Guinea, at . The island is named after Prince Edward, the brother of King George III of Great Britain....
and other islands include Makada, Kabakon, Kerawara, Ulu, and Mioko.
The island group lies in a seismic active zone, where two tectonic plates push upon each other. Earthquakes and tsunamis are not uncommon for the inhabitants of the islands.
The islands are low-lying, and are threatened with inundation due to rising sea levels. On 28 November 2000 the evacuation and resettlement of one thousand inhabitants to New Britain was announced.